NEXT Wednesday is Christmas day.
It is the festive season, a period to think and bless the poor and vulnerable in addition to having family time.
But this year, we were reminded for the umpteenth time that the political elites think of themselves and not the people they serve.
This week, the National Assembly was debating the 2025 national budget, a strategic policy for development, but it turned out to be a moment they thought of themselves first and God for us all second.
Most Zimbabweans for the past month had been thinking how cruel the Zanu PF regime is.
The party, through Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, tabled a national budget that will in the annals of history be remembered for piling more misery on the workers and capital owners.
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The 2025 national budget introduced a plethora of new taxes, among them fast-food tax, plastic tax and royalties on quarry stones.
This was in addition to an increase to personal income tax and taxes for the informal sector, a sector that at the moment employs hundreds of thousands of the population as the formal economy continues to contract.
MPs in the National Assembly did not find it important to debate easing of taxes on the overburdened taxpayers.
They instead thought about squeezing extra benefits from the Exchequer.
Water, electricity, education, health and public transport were second fiddle to their needs for luxuries.
This week, the National Assembly debated the vote allocations until the wee hours. Top on their agenda was Vote 2, the allocation for Parliament.
As fate would have it, it was an opposition MP — Caston Matewu — who became the face of the political elite’s love for luxuries at the expense of the taxpayers.
Matewu said MPs, especially committee chairs, needed a second batch of service vehicles since the ones they received six months ago had become write-offs.
The MPs needed their fuel and sitting allowances on time.
They further demanded housing stands in low-density areas and that the Constituency Development Fund should be increased.
These demands were not idle threats.
National Assembly members threatened to torpedo the 2025 national budget if their demands were not met.
These are men and women who demand to be called honourables.
These are the same men and women who during elections promised Zimbabweans a better life.
Yet, they did not even spare a thought about the millions of Zimbabweans struggling to put crumbs on the table.
Ncube was in a fix. He capitulated. It is a public secret that Ncube has a private line to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
He, therefore, gave in to the MPs’ demands after consultation.
What damn horse trading was Ncube or Mnangagwa doing with the MPs? Good old time will reveal.
They did not have a moment to debate the proposed social safety nets for the poor and the vulnerable.
It is a fact that the government admitted there are 1,7 million poor people in urban areas: People who cannot put food on their tables and have to rely on the State for their sustenance.
Let’s for a moment revert to what Ncube proposed for them in paragraph 480 of his budget statement for context.
“In addition, at least 1,7 million individuals were registered for the Urban Cash for Cereals Programme, which will provide cash transfers in urban areas, of which approximately 30 000 people have received the cash transfers through One Money.
“The target is to provide cash transfers at an equivalent of US$8 per individual per month,” Ncube said.
It is important to break these numbers down.
Of the 1,7 million vulnerable people, 1 670 000 are still struggling on their own because the government cannot support them for one reason or another.
The US$8 per individual is actually US$5 considering the devaluation of the ZiG in September by 42%.
We know that most service providers use the parallel market rate of ZiG40 to the greenback.
It is also a fact that the official rate is ZiG25 to the US dollar.
Do the maths, what are the poor really receiving from the government?
The MPs did not even debate about the Mutapa Investment Fund, the Zimbabwe Sovereign Wealth Fund, valued at US$16 billion by the Treasury.
This is a fund that controls over 20 State-owned enterprises across sectors that include real estate, communication, mines, manufacturing and financial services.
It is these same companies and their assets that can now be mortgaged or used as collateral by the government in securing new loans.
The MPs did not find it important to at least defend public assets by having Parliament give prior approval before these assets could be mortgaged.
They are a pathetic, parasitic bunch of dishounorable men and women.
They don’t care a hoot about Zimbabwe politics has found a convergence, a sad convergence that George Orwell exposed in his book Animal Farm.
The animals looking through the window could not distinguish between the pigs and men. They all looked the same.
Can Zimbabweans distinguish between opposition MPs and those from Zanu PF?
They both conspired to milk more from the taxpayers. They are tone deaf.
They cannot hear the groaning of the masses under the yoke of financial oppression.
All they thought about was more perks for themselves.
Going into 2025, there are things I expect our MPs and ministers to desist from.
It is stupid to preface every statement by referencing to Mnangagwa this and that.
It is public knowledge ministers have delegated authority, but putting Mnangagwa’s name in every statement is fawning beyond measure.
For once, this Christmas season, the electorate should question our MPs what the hell they were thinking when they debated the 2025 national budget?
We should hold them accountable. We should disabuse them from the notion that public office is a short cut to riches.
I am battling if I should say, Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year, when I’m aware of the empty tables and groaning ahead.
Happy festive season is probably better.
- Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist based in Harare. He writes here in his personal capacity.